Office of Materials Industries (OMI)

The Office of Materials Industries (OMI) undertakes a broad range of trade policy, trade promotion, and trade facilitation activities geared to increasing
the competitiveness of the U.S. building products, chemicals, and metals industries. OMI undertakes industry analysis, participates in trade policy development
and trade negotiations, conducts extensive trade promotion programs abroad, and evaluates the impact of domestic and international regulatory policies on the U.S.
building products, chemicals, and metals industries. OMI works with other Department of Commerce units and other U.S. agencies to address international market
access challenges encountered by U.S. exporters. A key to the successful efforts of OMI and other I&A offices is our strong working relationships with industry
trade associations and individual companies within the building products, chemicals, and metals industries. Please contact us regarding any competitiveness issues
your company or trade association may have.

What We Do:

Serve as ITA lead for two public-private export expansion partnerships under the Department’s Market Development Cooperator Program.

Serve as ITA lead for four Industry Trade Advisory Committees to ensure U.S. industry’s voice is included in trade policy development
for the building products, chemicals, forest products, and steel industries.

Serve as ITA co-lead for U.S. government-led green building standards projects in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Represent ITA in numerous U.S. government interagency working groups geared to advancing the competitiveness of OMI industries.

Develop and recommend U.S. policy positions for multilateral and bilateral discussions related to the U.S. building products, chemicals, and metals industries.

Provide information, trade data, and industry analysis to the U.S. business community, policymakers, and trade negotiators.

Provide export assistance, including advocacy and business counseling, to help U.S. building products, chemicals, and metals exporters penetrate new international markets, increase export market share, and resolve specific market access and development challenges.

Public-Private Partnerships – Market Development Cooperator Program

An MDCP award establishes a partnership between ITA and non-profit industry groups such as trade associations and chambers of commerce, which are
particularly effective in reaching small- and medium-size businesses. The non-profit groups compete for a limited number of MDCP awards by proposing
innovative projects that generate exports that create or sustain U.S. jobs. OMI staff serve as ITA lead for the following MDCP partnerships:

U.S.-China Build – MDCP partnership with the Evergreen Building Products Association geared to expanding U.S. building products exports to China.

Standards & Codes for Green Building – MDCP partnership with ASTM International focused on education on standards and codes for sustainable construction, Gulf Region.

Advisory Committees:

OMI regularly seeks the input of Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITAC) to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. industries. OMI currently serves as ITA lead for four
ITACs:

Committee members are senior executives representing a broad cross-section of an industry and serve two-year terms. The ITACs, which fall under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), are charged with providing consensus industry advice to the Secretary of Commerce on ways to enhance U.S. industry competitiveness.
To learn more about the ITAC system and how your organization may become involved, click here.

The International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, manages this global trade site to provide access to ITA information on promoting trade and investment, strengthening
the competitiveness of U.S. industry, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. External links to other Internet
sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. This site contains PDF documents.
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